What is herb used for?

Answer 1

Nutmeg is a spice which can be bought ready-ground or as a nut which you grate over food using a special metal or wooden grater, or the small starburst section of an ordinary grater. You can also scrape it with a serrated knife.

If you can buy the whole nutmeg, do so. Kept in a cool dark cupboard in a tin or jar it will last a long time, and the flavour is far better than the ready-ground.

One of the most popular uses of nutmeg, especially in Mediterranean countries, is in cooked foods, both sweet or savoury, containing milk or cheese, such as custards, cheese sauces, casseroles, stuffed pasta and so on. It is widely used in minced (ground) meat dishes, especially where the meat is mixed with eggs and used as stuffing.

In many countries, nutmeg is added to vegetables such as cabbage, green beans, and so on, and to potato dishes. It has long been popular in English custards and desserts.

Mace is the outer shell of the nutmeg and is bought ready-ground. It is frequently used with nutmeg in cooking, and adds an orange colour to food.

Grating the end off a nutmeg and carrying the nut to inhale can help clear the nasal passages. The nutmeg is brittle; it can be wrapped in muslin (like a lavender bag, or teabag) and hit with a hard object to shatter it, then kept to perfume cupboards and drawers.

Both nutmeg and mace are used in powdered spice mixes, from India to Japan and over Europe.